Sunday, 24 October 2010

Neighbours

NEIGHBOURS
Venusians, Martians, God - all now
discredited as Myth,
the electronic multi-million-dollar search
goes on for our nearest galactic neighbours.

A thousand upturned saucers scan
the radio emissions of the galaxies,
listening on a million wavelengths
for the wow of a signal that will say
- another sun's planet hosts intelligent life - .

If they be there,
a billion light years away,
could they now be here,
watching us ?

Perhaps it indeed were they
who spoilt the crops of those peasants
starved of food and money
halfway across this living Earth !
© GERALD ENGLAND

Composed: Ashton under Lyne, 3rd March 1981

Publications

1990 X-Calibre (UK)
1993 Sivullinen (Finland)
1994 Dial 174 (UK)

2 comments:

  1. I strongly suspect they are already here, and that they have been here for many millions of years. Sometimes I think that one of them is standing close behind me.

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  2. And don't forget I wrote this nearly 30 years ago!

    ReplyDelete